Job 1:20-22
At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.’ In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
This week we’ve been discussing some of the perils we face in life. In Tuesday’s E-votional I wrote about the peril of popularity; yesterday we considered the peril of pain; and today we’ll look at the peril of presumption. They do not necessarily follow in that order, nor is this an exhaustive list of perils. It is certain that each of us will be confronted with perils of one sort or another—and more than one!
I once owned and operated a Christian Counseling Center. From time to time pastors would refer their members to come to me to help resolve their problems from a biblical perspective. One time a local pastor referred a couple to me and informed me that their problem was finances—they did not know how to manage them!
When I met with this couple, I almost fell into the trap of presuming that I knew what their problem was. At the prompting of the Holy Spirit, however, I asked them to tell me why they were having problems. Surprisingly, it was something entirely different than finances, and when we dealt with that issue, the financial problem resolved itself.
In the spiritual realm, we often presume to know what God’s plans are for us. That is His business, and we must learn to watch and wait. It is a hard thing to do, but it is necessary. It means that we rest in His direction for our life and trust Him completely. NO PRESUMING ALLOWED ON THE PREMISES!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil